Flush valve regulator

ABSTRACT

A flush valve regulator to be applied to the discharge control valve of a toilet storage tank. The regulator is in the form of a float cup made in one integral piece, with a recess in the lower end thereof adapted to seat upon the discharge valve. The regulator is provided with a surrounding wall about the periphery of said bottom recess which encloses a top recess to be filled with water and has a sleeve extending through the float cup slidably receiving the stem of the discharge valve. When the stem is held in a raised position for a predetermined period of time, the entire contents of the storage tank is discharged. However, if the valve stem is lifted to start the discharge and then immediately released, the valve will be seated by the action of the float cup thereon and thus trap a part of the water in the tank to prevent its discharge.

United States Patent Macdonald Nov. 25, 1975 [541 FLUSH VALVE REGULATOR[76] Inventor: Warren E. Macdonald, 40 Sunset 'r Exam,i',1er wllhamMartm Drive, Seekonk, Mass 02771 Asszstant Examiner- Stuart S. LevyAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Burns, Doane, Swecker & [22] Filed: Feb. 8,1974 Mathis [21] Appl. No.: 440,738

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl 4/56; 4/67 A A flush valve regulator to beapplied to the discharge E031) E031) control valve of a toilet storagetank. The regulator is Field of sealdl in the form otl-e float cup madein one integral piece, 57 57 67 67 249 with a recess in the lower endthereof adapted to seat upon the discharge valve. The regulator isprovided [56] References Cited with a surrounding wall about theperiphery of said UNITED STATES PATENTS bottom recess which encloses atop recess to be filled 300 540 6/1884 Weeden 4/63 x with Water and hasa Sleeve extending through the 2,168,742 8/1939 ONeill et al..... 4/57 Rfloat cup slidably receiving the stem of the discharge 2,214,439 9/1940Robertson 4/56 valve. When the stem is held in a raised position for a2,260,078 10/1941 Kurkijan 4/56 predetermined period of time, the entirecontents of 2,668,960 2/1954 Barrett et al 4/57 the storage tank isdischarged. However, if the Valve 3,153,247 10/1964 Walsh 4/67 A X stemis lifted to start the discharge and then immedilg; s zf l 4/ i atelyre1eased,.the valve will be seated by the action of a cry 3,380,0774/1968 Armstrong 4/67 R l f f l: g i a part of the water 3,561,0162/1971 Reynolds 4/67 A m e o S arge' 3,831,204 8/1974 Cook 4157 R raw'nggums Sheet 1 of 2 FIG! FIG 3 US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 U.S. Patent Nov.25, 1975 Sheet 2 of 2 FIG. 6

FIG8- 1 FLUSH VALVE REGULATOR SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to improvements in flush valve regulators of the characteradapted for use on a toilet flush tank valve to regulate the quantity ofwater discharged from the tank under control of the valve.

Attempts have been made heretofore to provide regulators which wouldallow discharge of less than the entire quantity of the water containedin the tank. One such proposal has utilized a sectional regulatorsecured to the stern of the valve to be filled with water in the tankand to apply a counterbalance force to the valve,

tending to seat it, except when held in a raised position.

Such a regulator has many objections and has proven to be unsatisfactorybecause of the corrodible material of which it is formed in part; itrequires careful adjustment; it is secured to the stem of the valve andtherefore requires assembly prior to installation.

One object of the invention is to simplify and im prove regulators fortoilet tank flush valves which are free of the objections encounteredwith proposals made heretofore.

Another object of the invention is to provide a regulator that may beeasily applied to the stem of a flush valve and is free thereof, but isconstructed of inexpensive corrosion-resistant material which,nevertheless, will be filled with water in the tank to regulate theclosing of the discharge valve and thereby limit the quantity of waterdischarged from the tank.

These objects may be accomplished, according to one embodiment of theinvention, by providing a float cup in one piece of molded constructionwith a surrounding wall and a transverse head at one end of the wallwhich may be of dished shape to conform substantially to the peripheralsurface of the upper end of the discharge valve. A sleeve extends fromthe head to the upper end of the float cup of sufficient size to receivethe valve stem loosely therethrough. The upper end of the float cup issubstantially open, to be filled with water in the tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS This embodiment is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the float cup detached;

FIG. 2 is a cross section therethrough;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof; and

FIGS. 5 to 11 are diagrammatic cross sections of the float cup installedin a flush tank, showing the parts in different positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSURE The float cup, according to thisinvention, is illustrated generally by the numeral 1 and comprises asurrounding wall 2, with a bottom head 3 extending transversely of thelower end of the surrounding wall. In the form of the inventionillustrated, this bottom head 3 is dish shaped, but it may be made ofany suitable shape to conform substantially to the shape of the ballvalve to which it is applied and to accommodate valves of dif' ferentshapes.

Extending upwardly from the bottom head or cup 3 is a sleeve 4 which isopen through the head and extends substantially to the upper end of thesurrounding wall 2. The sleeve 4 is held in place by webs 5 that extendradially from the sleeve 4 to the surrounding wall 2, forming braces tohold the sleeve properly centered. The lower edges of the webs 5 conformto the peripheral surface of the head 3. The float cup thus forms areceptacle 6 within the surrounding wall 2 above the head 3 and betweenthe wall and the sleeve 4, which is filled with water within the flushtank.

The float cup is preferably molded of a suitable plastic material whichis corrosion resistant. While any suitable plastic may be used as founddesirable, it is preferred to use a plastic material which is very closeto the specific gravity of water so that it will have virtually noeffect on the buoyancy of the ball valve to which it is applied duringthat part of the operation when it is submerged. It may be molded in onepiece and thus be inexpensive to construct and easy to apply to aconventional valve stem in a toilet flush tank.

The use of the float cup is illustrated diagrammatically in thesectional views shown in FIGS. 5 to 11. The construction of aconventional flush tank is not illustrated in detail except insofar asneeded to illustrate the manner in which the float cup is applied to thestern of the valve.

' In these views, a tank is illustrated generally at 7, having a bottomwall 8, with a valve seat 9 formed or mounted in the bottom wall. Avalve is shown at 10 which is usually a hollow ball valve of a suitableplastic or rubber material, adapted to fit upon the seat 9. The ballvalve 10 has a valve stem 11 fixed at one end thereto and extendingupwardly to a flush lever 12 which is usually manually controlled. Thevalve stem 11 extends in guided relation through a suitable guidebracket 13 mounted in the tank, usually on one side of the overflowpipe. The means for operating the lever 12 and for controlling theadmission of water to the tank are not illustrated because these arewell known in the art and conventional forms thereof may be used.

The float cup 1 is located above the ball valve 10, with the stem 11extending loosely through the sleeve 4 of the cup so that the float cupis slidable vertically along the stem, free thereof.

The different relative positions of the float cup 1 with respect to thevalve 10 and the valve stem 11 are illustrated in the several viewsdesignated FIGS. 5 to 11 under different conditions. In FIG. 5, the tankis empty, with the valve 10 seated, closing the discharge outlet 9. Aswater is admitted to the tank, the float cup 1 is sufficiently light inweight so that it will float upon the surface of the water during theinitial filling action, as shown in FIG. 6.

The float cup 1 is limited in its floating movement by the guide bracket13 so that, as the tank is filled with water, as shown in FIG. 7, thereceptacle 6 in the float cup will also be filled and will graduallysettle down to a seated position upon the top of the valve 10, asillustrated in FIG. 7. Then, upon actuating the lever 12 to raise thevalve 10 off the seat 9, as shown in FIG. 8, the water is allowed toflow out of the tank. Because there is now water below, as well asabove, the hollow ball valve 10, it has a buoyancy lifting it towardsthe surface of the water in the tank. The upward movement of the valveis limited by the stem 11 and the bracket 13. The addition of the floatcup I to the stem 11 further limits the upward travel of the valve 10.

Without the cup 1, as the surface of the water in the tank would fall toa level at which the buoyancy of the ball valve equals its weight, theball valve floats in equilibrium at the surface and begins to lower withthe falling water level untilit contacts the seat 9. At this point, thewater under the ball valve continues to fall away, leaving the weight ofthe ball valve combined with the water pressure only on the upperportion of the ball valve, holding the valve securely in place while thetank refills.

In FIG. 9, as the surface of the water in the tank falls in the samemanner as just described, the ball valve 10, with the float cup 1 inplace, floats in equilibrium relative to the surface, but because thebuoyancy is not sufficient to keep both the top of the ball valve andthe water-filled float cup above the surface, its position of floatingequilibrium is below the surface, with only a small portion of the floatcup remaining above the surface.

Because the float cup thus causes the ball valve to float lower in thewater relative to the surface, as the water level lowers due to thedischarging water, the ball valve contacts the seat 9 sooner than itwould without the float cup in place.

In this way, the float cup causes the water discharge through the seat 9to be shut off sooner than it would without the float cup. Thus, lesswater is used in the flushing action even though essentially the sameamount of water is available in the tank as is available without thefloat cup.

It can be understood then, that by actuating lever 12 and releasing itpromptly, with the float cup 1 in place, a substantial quantity of thewater in the tank is trapped and, therefore, a lesser amount of water isreleased for flushing only liquids. If both liquids and solids are to beflushed, it is desirable to use the entire available tankfull of water.All the water can be allowed to discharge from the tank by actuating thelever 12 and holding it a few seconds longer in the position shown inFIG. 8, while the tank empties.

It should be noted that the vortex of the discharging water does providea slight downward assist to the seating of the ball valve 10 into theseat 9. This effect is the same on the ball valve, with or without theaddition of the float cup 1.

FIG. 11 shows the position of the parts during refilling.

It will be apparent from these illustrations that the cup fills withwater during the first filling action and remains full thereafter. Whenthe flushing operation starts, the ball valve and the cup are liftedaway from the valve seat. The float cup reduces the net buoyancy of theball valve so that the ball valve remains below the surface of the waterin the tank during the flushing operation and thus will seat morereadily in an advanced relation to the discharge of the water unless thevalve is held off the seat normally during the completion of theflushing action.

This float cup can be used with any suitable or desired form of ballvalve on a stem regardless of the design thereof or the operation of thelever handle. It is made of one piece molded construction which isinexpensive to manufacture, easily applied and effective in service. Itdoes not require any assembly prior to installation or any adjustment,but may be used wherever it is found suitable for the purpose.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in oneembodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be madetherein without departing from the invention set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a toilet flush tank having a buoyant flush valve with a convexupper surface and a lower sealing portion, a valve seat that cooperateswith the valve lower portion, a valve stem connected to and extendingupwardly from the upper surface of the flush valve and with an upperend, operating means connected to the upper end operable to lift theflush valve from the valve seat, and a guide bracket for the valve stem,said bracket having an aperture through which said stem extends andhaving a shoulder positioned between the upper end of the stern and theflush valve but below the tank water level, an improved flush valveregulator for spacing the flush valve below the guide bracket inproximity of the valve seat to effect early closure of the flush valve,the flush valve regulator comprising a generally cylindrical wall withan upper edge and a lower edge, a concave bottom head integrallyattached to the lower edge of the wall, a centrally disposed sleeveslidably mounted on the valve stem between the flush valve and the guidebracket and positioned to engage the bracket shoulder upon lifting saidstem, the sleeve being generally coaxial with the wall, integrallyconnected to the head, extending upwardly from the head to the upperedge of the wall, loosely fitting on the valve stem between the flushvalve and the guide bracket, a plurality of radially extending websbetween the sleeve and the wall for holding the sleeve centrally inposition, each web being integrally connected to the wall, the sleeveand the head, the wall, sleeve, head and webs being fabricated from anintegral piece of substantially neutrally buoyant plastic material, thewall, sleeve and head cooperating to define an annular water receivingreservoir, the wall and sleeve defining an annular opening for receivingwater in the reservoir, the convex head adapted to seat on the convexsurface of the flush valve during closure thereof and adapted to avoidchanges in force required to actuate the operat

1. In a toilet flush tank having a buoyant flush valve with a convexupper surface and a lower sealing portion, a valve sEat that cooperateswith the valve lower portion, a valve stem connected to and extendingupwardly from the upper surface of the flush valve and with an upperend, operating means connected to the upper end operable to lift theflush valve from the valve seat, and a guide bracket for the valve stem,said bracket having an aperture through which said stem extends andhaving a shoulder positioned between the upper end of the stem and theflush valve but below the tank water level, an improved flush valveregulator for spacing the flush valve below the guide bracket inproximity of the valve seat to effect early closure of the flush valve,the flush valve regulator comprising a generally cylindrical wall withan upper edge and a lower edge, a concave bottom head integrallyattached to the lower edge of the wall, a centrally disposed sleeveslidably mounted on the valve stem between the flush valve and the guidebracket and positioned to engage the bracket shoulder upon lifting saidstem, the sleeve being generally coaxial with the wall, integrallyconnected to the head, extending upwardly from the head to the upperedge of the wall, loosely fitting on the valve stem between the flushvalve and the guide bracket, a plurality of radially extending websbetween the sleeve and the wall for holding the sleeve centrally inposition, each web being integrally connected to the wall, the sleeveand the head, the wall, sleeve, head and webs being fabricated from anintegral piece of substantially neutrally buoyant plastic material, thewall, sleeve and head cooperating to define an annular water receivingreservoir, the wall and sleeve defining an annular opening for receivingwater in the reservoir, the convex head adapted to seat on the convexsurface of the flush valve during closure thereof and adapted to avoidchanges in force required to actuate the operating means.